Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:41 am
Also Old Saybrook; proximity to New London.
Not sure what the passenger counts are at either.
That's my home Amtrak station, about 5 miles away from me. There's quite a bit of Amtrak business there. The Acelas don't stop, but a good number of regionals do. And there's usually a good amount of people getting on or off. Its a good intermediate stop (20 miles from NLD, 30 from NHV, give or take). And with the hassles of driving on I-95 to either station, it suites its market quite well. And still has a staffed ticket window daily.
While I can't think of any NEC spine stops to remove, I would restructure the Hartford Line service and remove from Amtrak's roster stops in Wally, Berlin, and the Windsors, leaving them exclusively for commuter rail. In order for the Hartford Line to be truly successful and attract more riders, the 400-series shuttles should be discarded and replaced with ConnDOT trainsets (they have more than enough equipment). If someone is commuting from, say, Wallingford to Hartford and they are chosing a 400-series train, if the mainline train is late into New Haven, then the 400-series shuttle isn't leaving NHV, thus cascading the delays up the line. Keep Meriden and Hartford for a pair of thru Regionals on the line, plus the Vermonter.
Also not directly NEC, but I don't believe ridership is that high at all at Windsor-Ascutney, VT, especially since the closing of Mt Ascutney. I've been on the Vermonter several times when we've gone thru Windsor-Ascutney (and Randolph, too) without stopping.